Creatures, Myths & Legends

By T.K. Randall
September 21, 2026

Image: Loch Ness Shoreline
Credit: Ben Buxton / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted)

The 17th recorded sighting has cemented 2026 as a bumper year for encounters with the Loch Ness Monster.

Whether or not a large, mysterious creature really does lurk beneath the surface of Scotland's Loch Ness remains unclear, but that hasn't stopped people from reporting strange sightings over the years - tales of shadowy shapes and mysterious forms gliding silently through the murky depths.

This latest example comes courtesy of a local sailor who had been taking his yacht across the loch on July 25th when he saw something he couldn't explain.

"[I] spotted what I can only explain as a large oversized crocodile head above the water off the starboard quarter at distance of around 100 meters," he recalled.

"At the time we were about two miles west of Glenmoriston, sea state was slight and visibility good. Our position was in the middle of the loch with the head sighting between us and the north shore."

"The head quickly disappeared before I could get a photo as it took me a few minutes to process what I was seeing. We made it into Fort Augustus safely with no further sightings."

The report has since been added to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register.

So what exactly did the man witness in the waters of the loch ?

Was it the fabled monster, or something else ?

We will probably never know for sure.

Source: Inverness Courier

Tags: Loch Ness